


It was and would not be

by Keenir



Series: The Reyverse [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Darth thoughts, Gen, Missing Scene, Rey Binks, Rey Kenobi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-09 23:17:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5559491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keenir/pseuds/Keenir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darth Vader says goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It was and would not be

Lord Vader's bed was rarely used; usually it was less painful to simply doze on his feet.  It also contributed to the "urban myth" that the Emperor's Right Hand never slept.  A fiction, but one Vader found useful to cultivate.

Right now, there was someone lying on Vader's bed. 

_The Emperor so rarely reads my thoughts anymore.  He knows that if I do something which reminds me of my youth or of the paths I nearly took, I will emerge a sharper weapon even more dedicated to the Empire.  I am no threat._

Vader sat on the bed; neither his suit nor his legs permitted him to rest on the bed edge as he had done in his youth.  He looked at the young lady, the last remnant of someone he had trusted so much.

A trace of a smile broke on Vader's shielded face, which made a trickle of blood run from it, and which his mask repaired all damage to.  _Would my children have been as clever as you?  Doubtful: I failed to save those who mattered._   He no longer had his Padme, and had never had his children, but now...

 _That is what it means to be Sith: to confront ugly realities and know them, for how else can they be crushed?  Admit to the truth, do not delude yourself, and you will not run screaming from every mirror.  We are Sith._ Few these days believed the Sith really existed - the Emperor was the Emperor, and the Force was something from the dying faith of half-trained Jedi survivors.

 _We are real, and we have won; but what comes next?_ Vader considered the child.   _Are you the answer to that question?_

The infant blew a raspberry at him, or as well as a toothless creature can do.  It was adorable, even to one who had not thought in such ways for so very many years.

Watching her play with his gloved finger, Vader felt a pang, and decided not to squash the pang - but rather, to follow that thought.   "I could keep you," he said to the infant, who burbled at him, so much light in her eyes.  _What I said to Padme, about she and I ruling together, stopping all the problems...  You and I, Rey - with you as my right hand and successor._

"Ba ba ba ba ba," Rey babbled.

"True," Vader granted.  _There is the Emperor.  And without him, I have too many enemies inside and outside of the Empire.  I have already lost one family to treachery._ It occurred to Vader that he could raise the girl as his own, for there would be many years before she would be ready to serve as an apprentice, _But that would only delay the inevitable confrontation._ "I know precisely where to take you.  To the one friend who never betrayed me." _**He** will raise you._

There would be a parade, he knew.  A parade and a festival and lots of dancing and bubbles; eccentricity was tolerated in those whose loyalty was so absolute - whose loyalty saved that world from a reprisal that would have left Naboo a starker place than even the Hutt worlds.  And that parade et al would focus around him - Lord Vader himself, come to visit.  _So be it.  Your fate is worth my discomfort,_ he thought at the baby girl who was now trying to catch her toes; deep below the mask, Vader cracked a smile at the sight and tasted blood for a moment.


End file.
